USA > Iowa > Howard County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 47
USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > History of Chickasaw and Howard counties, Iowa, Volume II > Part 47
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year 1918, the amount reaching five hundred and ninety-five thousand two hundred and twenty-five pounds.
On the 9th of June, 1896, Mr. Cagley was united in marriage to Miss Edna Sloat, of Chickasaw township, who passed away in 1905, leaving two children, Doris and Faith. In 1907 Mr. Cagley was again married, his second union being with Miss Elva Groell, of Jackson county, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Cagley are members of the Baptist church and guide their lives according to its teachings. They are recognized as people of ster' ing worth and the hospitality of the best homes of this section of the state is freely accorded them. In politics Mr. Cagley is a republican and for several years he filled the offices of township trustee and township clerk. He is now chairman of the township republican central committee. For a quarter of a century he has served as a member of the school board and has ever taken the keenest and most helpful interest in the cause of education, recognizing the fact that the public school system is one of the nation's bulwarks He has therefore put forth earnest effort for the advancement of the stand- ards of education and in so doing indicates that he is a man of clear vision who readily recognizes the true values of life and its opportunities. He was active in war work, serving as chairman of township committee during Liberty Loan and United War Work campaigns.
ARTHUR W. WENTWORTH.
Arthur W. Wentworth established the first garage in Cresco and is still engaged in the business as senior partner of the firm of Wentworth & Burr. Their place of business is situated next to the opera house and is one of the finest garages of this part of the county. In the conduct of his business Mr. Wentworth is alert, progressive and sagacious and whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion. He is one of Cresco's native sons, born in 1879, his parents being Alpha and Maria (Whitney) Wentworth. The father was a native of Richmond, in the province of Quebec, Canada. His wife was also born in that locality, where they were reared and married, and in 1877 they crossed the border into the United States and made their way to Iowa, becoming residents of Cresco, where the father worked at the black- smith's trade, which he had previously learned in Canada. He was also employed as foreman of labor on the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad but afterward engaged in black- smithing on his own account in Cresco, conducting his smithy to the time of his death, which occurred in 1913. His widow followed him to the grave in March, 1918. His political support was given to the democratic party and he held membership in the Mystic Toilers. His life was one of activity and his persistency of purpose led to the development of high skill in his trade. He therefore was accorded a liberal patronage and became one of the substantial citizens of his community.
Arthur W. Wentworth spent his boyhood days in Cresco, his youth being largely devoted to the acquirement of a public school education. On account of his health, be- lieving that the outdoor life would prove beneficial, he hunted and trapped in various parts of the country. Later, however, he entered the employ of J. L. Henley, proprietor of a bicycle shop in Cresco, and with him remained for a number of years, his work in that connection developing his mechanical skill. Later he went to Chicago, where he worked in an automobile and bicycle shop for a year, after which he returned to Cresco and established a shop on his own account in this city, continuing the business from 1908 until 1913. At that date he entered into partnership with Fred Burr and built a fine garage. He has since enjoyed a splendid business in this connection and is agent for the Reo automobile, also for the Chevrolet car and for the Moline tractor. He has built up a good business in the sales department as well as in the garage, where he does all kinds of high grade repair work. He carries a well selected line of auto accessories and supplies and year by year his business has increased.
In March, 1916, Mr. Wentworth was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Weber. a daughter of William Weber. Her parents were natives of Germany and came to the
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United States at an early day. Their daughter, Mrs. Wentworth, was born in Cresco and by her marriage has become the mother of one son, Floyd.
Mr. Wentworth is a republican in his political views, having always voted with the party since reaching adult age, but he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He stands for all that is of benefit to the community, however, and manifests a public-spirited devotion to the generai good. His has been an active and useful life, in which his business activity has brought to him well merited success. Those who know him, and he has many friends in Cresco, speak of him in terms of warm regard and number him with those who have expert mechanical ability.
J. J. CASHMAN.
J. J. Cashman, identified with the farming interests of Howard county, his home being on section 21, Afton township, has always lived upon this place, which is en- deared to him through the associations of his boyhood as well as those of his later man- hood. He was born upon this farm July 28, 1876, and there is no phase of its develop- ment with which he is not familiar. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Cashman, the mother a native of Dubuque, Iowa, while the father was born on the Atlantic ocean while his parents were coming from Ireland to the new world.
J. J. Cashman, whose name introduces this review, acquired a common school edu- cation in Afton township and also spent one year as a student in the Bayless Business College, thus preparing for the responsibilities of a business career. His early life was spent upon his father's farm, assisting in the work of the fields, but later he began farming on his own account and is now busily engaged in the further development and cultivation of three hundred and twenty acres of land, from which he annually gathers good crops as a result of his careful methods in the cultivation of the farm. Every- thing about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance and indicates his careful super- vision and practical and progressive methods.
In October, 1902, Mr. Cashman was united in marriage to Miss Mamie Clark, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Clark, now residents of Elma. Mr. and Mrs. Cashman have become parents of two children, Raymond and Clarence, both at home.
Mr. Cashman and his family are communicants of St. Cecelia's Catholic church and he is also identified with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Modern Woodmen of America, his membership being with the camp at Elma. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party but he never seeks nor desires office, preferring to con- centrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, which are being carefully and systematically directed and are bringing to him well merited success. What he has accomplished is the direct result of his close application, industry and thrift. He has worked diligently as the years have gone by and is now classed with the substantial farmers of Afton township.
JOHN C. LIVINGSTON.
John C. Livingston, who devotes his attention to farming on section 4, Vernon Springs township, Howard county, is a native son of Wisconsin. He was born in Rock county of that state on the 27th of February, 1847, his parents being Oliver and Mary (David) Livingston, who were natives of West Virginia. They removed to Wisconsin in 1845, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of that state and sharing in all of the hardships and privations of frontier life. The father was a stanch republican in politics and held the office of county supervisor and also that of justice of the peace in Rock county. He was likewise a most active and devoted member of the Methodist church and by reason of his services in behalf of the moral and political progress of the county he was numbered among its leading citizens.
It was in Rock county that John C. Livingston was reared and educated. He was a
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young man of twenty-five years when he came to Iowa, settling at Vernon Springs in the fall of 1872. Throughout the intervening period he has devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits and has cleared one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he converted into a fine farm that is his present home. His life has been one of activity and enterprise and his progressiveness has brought him prominently to the front as a leading agriculturist of his section of the state.
In 1869 Mr. Livingston was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Barnett, of Osh- kosh, Wisconsin, and to them were born three children: Lillie J., who is the wife of Frank Peckham, of Cresco, Iowa; Inez S., the wife of Leslie D. Barker of Janesville, Wisconsin; and Arthur J. who married Cora Hollenbauh and resides uopn the home farm, assisting his father in its further cultivation and development. The wife and mother passed away May 31, 1889, and in 1890 Mr. Livingston was again married, his second union being with Miss Kate C. Cooley, a daughter of Gilbert and Martha (Ham- mond) Cooley, who were pioneer residents of Clayton county, Iowa.
Mr. Livingston has always been a stanch advocate of republican principles and gives loyal support to the party. He has held the position of road supervisor and was also constable for three terms about forty years ago. He and his wife attend the Baptist church at Cresco and he and his son Arthur are members of the Masonic lodge at Cresco. He is a loyal exemplar of the craft, holding faithfully to its teachings, and the genuine worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he has come in con- tact. Those who know him, and he has many friends, speak of him in terms of the highest regard and Howard county numbers him among her representative citizens. He has here resided for forty-seven years and has therefore long been a witness of the growth and development of this section of the state.
WENZEL A. PECHOTA.
Farming interests in Chickasaw county find a worthy representative in Wenzel A. Pechota, who lives upon section 1, Utica township. It was upon the farm that he now owns that he was born November 22, 1883, a son of Frank and Mary Pechota, both of whom were natives of Bohemia, belonging to that class of substantial citizens that Bohemia has furnished to the new world. They came to the United States in young manhood and young womanhood and were probably married in Chicago, where they first located. The father was employed for a number of years in a lumberyard in that city and subsequently he removed to Iowa, taking up his abode in Winneshiek county, where he turned to the occupation of farming. He purchased a small place of twenty acres, which he afterward sold, and then returned to Chicago in order to make enough money to buy more land. Subsequently he again came to Iowa and invested in eighty acres in Chickasaw county, this tract constituting a part of the farm of his son Wenzel. During the first few years the father had a hard time to get along, but his diligence and perseverance overcame the difficulties and obstacles in his path and later he prospered in his undertakings and acquired five hundred and sixty acres of valuable farm property in Chickasaw county. He and his wife are still living and make their home in Pro- tivin.
Their son, Wenzel A. Pechota, was educated in the district schools and in August, 1909, he wedded Miss Christina Shileny, a daughter of Frank Shileny, a native of Bo- hemia who became one of the early settlers of Winneshiek county and is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Pechota have a family of four children: Helen, Clara, Evalina and Richard.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and in his political views Mr. Pechota is a democrat but has never been an office seeker. At the time of his marriage his father deeded him his present farm, comprising one hundred acres, and upon this place he has resided since his birth. He is today one of the successful agri- culturists and representative citizens of Utica township. No event of special import- ance has occurred to vary the routine of farm life for him. for he has always preferred to concentrate his efforts and attention upon the work of the fields. He early realized
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the fact that industry must be the basis of all success and has given his undivided thought and effort to the cultivation of the fields, carrying on the work along most progressive lines. The reliability and integrity of his methods, as well as his success, have made the name of Pechota a respected one in connection with the agricultural development of this part of the state.
CHARLES PESEK.
Charles Pesek, actively engaged in general farming in Howard county, is the owner of a property of one hundred and sixty acres on section 32, New Oregon town- ship. He was born in Austin county, Texas, January 6, 1862, and his parents were natives of Bohemia. The father was a blacksmith of that country but at length deter- mined to try his fortune in the new world and, accompanied by his wife, crossed the Atlantic to the United States, establishing his home in Austin county, Texas, where he followed blacksmithing. When his son Charles was about five years of age the father returned with his family to Bohemia, where he purchased a farm and spent his remain- ing days.
Charles Pesek, however, came to the United States at the age of thirteen and made his way direct to Spillville, Iowa. For a year he attended school and then began earn- ing his living by working as a farm hand. He next worked his way westward, em- ployed on farms in various sections of the country, especially in western California and in the Dakotas. Eventually, however, he again came to Iowa, where he was em- ployed on the railroad for about ten years. On the expiration of that period he took up masonry work, which he followed for about four years, after which he began farming. He bought eighty acres of land in Chickasaw county and remained there for six years, actively engaged in farming. After selling his property in that county he made invest- ment in his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 32, New Oregon township, Howard county, becoming owner thereof in 1912. He has put some of the improvements upon the property and has most carefully and systematically carried on the farm work, so that he has made his place a valuable and productive one.
On the 13th of February, 1893, Mr. Pesek was married to Miss Mary Eral. a daughter of John and Mary Eral, farming people of Chickasaw county. To Mr. and Mrs. Pesek have been born nine children: Mary, Catherine, 'Anna, John, Alba, Charles, Theresa, Jacob and Barbara. The children have all married and are living in different sections of surrounding states.
Mr. Pesek attends the Catholic church of Protivin and is a member of the Catholic Workmen Lodge at Spillville. His political support is given to the democratic party. His has been a life of industry and thrift and whatever success he has achieved is due entirely to his own labors. Returning from Bohemia to his native land when a youth of thirteen years, he has since the following year been dependent entirely upon his own resources and his life record illustrates what can be accomplished by persistence, energy and determination.
F. C. BARTELS.
F. C. Bartels, engaged in farming on section 9, Howard township, Howard county, was born in Bremer county, Iowa, February 15, 1874, a son of Ernest F. and Sophia (Eichoff) Bartels, who are mentioned in connection with the sketch of August Bartels on another page of this volume. F. C. Bartels, after attending the district and parochial schools of Bremer county and being graduated from the latter with the class of 1877, worked upon the home farm with his father up to the time of his marriage in 1898. He then began farming on his own account on the place where he still resides, his father deeding him at that time eighty acres of this land. He has since added to the property, having after four years purchased
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the adjoining eighty acres, so that his present holdings constitute an entire quarter section. His land is rich and productive and responds readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon it, so that each year Mr. Bartels harvests large crops. He is the only man who has ever lived upon this place, for the land was virgin prairie when he took possession thereof and much of it was covered with hazel brush. He cleared the place, erected all of the buildings thereon and has made it one of the attractive and well improved farms of Howard township. In the spring of 1919 he was offered and refused one hundred and eighty-seven dollars and a half per acre for this property. His labors have indeed made it valuable and productive and splendid results have rewarded his efforts as the years have passed.
In 1898 Mr. Bartels was united in marriage to Miss Louise Westendorf, of Alta Vista, Iowa, and to them have been born eight children, namely: Rose, the wife of Albert Brummond, a farmer of Afton township; and Esther, Ellen, Mabel, Helen, Victor, Herbert and Leonard.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and for several years Mr. Bartels has served as one of the trustees of the church and is now one of its deacons. His political support is given to the republican party, for its platform contains, in his belief, the best elements of good government. He served for a number of years as a member of the school board and the cause of education has ever found in him a stalwart champion. He has always found time and opportunity to aid in measures of public progress and improvement, notwithstanding the fact that his business interests have constantly grown in volume and in importance. In addition to his careful and successful operation of his farm he is now a stock- holder in the Howard County Cooperative Equity Association of Elma, is a stock- holder in the Farmers Cooperative Creamery of Maple Leaf, a stockholder in the Alta Vista Savings Bank, and a stockholder in the Alta Vista Lumber Company. His interests are broad and varied, making him one of the foremost citizens and substantial business men of Howard county.
NICHOLAS SCHILLING, M. D.
Liberal educational training qualified Dr. Nicholas Schilling for the practice of medicine and he has kept in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and practice by post graduate study abroad and by wide reading and investigation at home. He was born in Sauk county, Wisconsin. April 4, 1868, a son of John and Elizabetlı (Pickar) Schilling, both of whom were natives of Rhenish Prussia. The father, hav- ing served his time in the German army, emigrated to America when twenty-three years of age. The mother came to the new world with her parents when twelve years of age. In 1905 Dr. Schilling visited the old village of Bollendorfe, near Echternach, in Rhenish Prussia, just across the border from Luxemburg, and there met relatives of both his father and mother-people of simplicity, piety, industry, thrift and general intrinsic worth.
Dr. Schilling was only ten years of age at the time of his father's death, which left the mother with five little children and very little material support. The Doctor, being the oldest, learned many things in the cold and uncharitable school of reality that a more polished education would not have offered him. After attending the public schools of Honey Creek, Sauk county, Wisconsin, to the age of ten years he then accom- panied his mother on her removal to North Washington, Iowa, where for two years he was a pupil in the parochial school. Between the ages of thirteen and twenty years he worked at farm labor during the summer and in the winter months attended school. For five years of that period he was practically a member of Mrs. Barbara Hof's family and acknowledges an everlasting obligation to this devoted, kind and ambitious woman, in whose household he received many good lessons and who later stimulated his ambi- tion to gain an education. In 1888-89 he attended the Decoral Institute, conducted by Professor John Breckenridge, and later taught school in Deerfield, Iowa, and in Free- burg, Houston county, Minnesota. He next attended the Northern Indiana Normal
DR. NICHOLAS SCHILLING
Vol. II-24
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School at Valparaiso, Indiana, and was graduated from the scientific department of that institution in August, 1893. During the following two years he was a student in the medical school of the Northwestern University of Chicago and in 1896 was gradu- ated from the John A. Creighton Medical College at Omaha, Nebraska. During the succeeding year he was interne at the Lakeside Hospital of Chicago, and in February, 1897, he came to New Hampton, Iowa, and entered upon the practice of medicine under Dr. A. Babcock. In 1900 he established an office in the Glass block and has now for twenty-two years been an active member of the profession in this city. In February, 1905, he went to Vienna, Austria, for post graduate study, returning in December of the same year, and in July, 1910, he again went to Vienna for post graduate work, there remaining from September, 1910, until December, 1911, returning home on Christ- mas day. In the intervening period he has kept in close touch with the best medical literature of this and other countries and at all times has kept thoroughly informed concerning the latest scientific researches and discoveries. It was long his ambition to establish a hospital in his community and his wish finally reached realization in February, 1917, when St. Joseph's Hospital was opened in New Hampton to receive patients. He had much to do with the preliminary work in planning and establishing the institution, in which he has practiced with success. He is a member of the Tri- State, the Iowa State, the Austin-Flint, Cedar Valley and American Medical Associa- tions and is a member of the American College of Surgeons.
On the 31st of December, 1894, in Chicago, Dr. Schilling was married to Miss Mar- tha Pfeiffer, a daughter of Mrs. Mary Pfeiffer. She came to America in 1892 and for a number of years engaged in dressmaking. After several years' work along that line in Chicago she attained the position of forelady in Mandel Brothers' store of Chicago. The family comes from Thorn on the Vistula, in Germany. She had one sister who died sev- eral years ago in Chicago and she has a brother who is still in Germany and who throughout his life has been connected with the German army. Her younger brother, Ernest, is a lawyer of Chicago. To Dr. and Mrs. Schilling have been born six children: Arthur, twenty-three years of age; Florence, aged twenty-one; Cordelia, nineteen; Harold, sixteen; Bernard, twelve; and Marie, aged ten. Arthur enlisted in the navy in Febru- ary, 1916, and is now serving on the battleship Mississippi. Florence and Cordelia are attending the University of Minnesota; Harold is a student in Dubuque College and Bernard and Marie are still at home.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Dr. Schilling has for fourteen years been a member of the Knights of Columbus. His political alle- giance has generally been given to the democratic party but he does not hold himself bound by party ties. Political honors and emoluments have had no attraction for him as his attention and efforts have ever centered in the line of his chosen profession. Laudable ambition prompted him to gain the education which constituted the basic elements of his life work. Step by step, entirely through his own efforts, he has worked his way upward and his professional position is a most creditable one.
STEWART WILSON.
Stewart Wilson is now living retired in Cresco, enjoying the fruits of a well Spent life largely devoted to agricultural pursuits. For many years he was num- bered among the representative farmers of northern Iowa and as the result of his untiring industry, intelligently directed, won the substantial success which numbers him with the men of affluence in his community. He was born on a farm in St. Lawrence county, New York, May 20, 1846, and is a son of George and Jane (Stewart) Wilson. His parents were both natives of Ireland and there the father took up the stone mason's trade and also followed farming in connection with that pursuit. He was married on the Emerald isle but at length he determined to try his fortune in America and in 1844 crossed the Atlantic to the new world accom- panied by his wife. They made the voyage in a sailing vessel and were about six weeks in reaching New York harbor. There they disembarked and soon afterward
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took up their abode in St. Lawrence county, New York, where Mr. Wilson at once purchased a farm of fifty acres. He then concentrated his efforts and attention upon general farming in St. Lawrence county until the fall of 1865, when he sold his property there and with his family removed to Dane county, Wisconsin. His pur- chase of land in that locality made him owner of a tract of one hundred acres, which he cultivated, continuing its operation until his death and during that period added many improvements to the property. He sold his farm in Wisconsin, however, just prior to his demise and had arranged to purchase a farm in Howard county, Iowa, but a few days before he was to start upon the trip he was taken ill and passed away. His wife had died upon the old home farm in Wisconsin in June, 1866, soon after their removal to that state, so that she was not long permitted to enjoy her new home there. They were people of sterling worth and of the highest respect-
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